Second chance
by sassymajesty
Summary: Sequel to Born Still. "We have so much love to give to a baby. It's the kind of love we can't give to anyone except a baby. Our baby." Our baby. Hearing the words said with such hope felt like the first breath of fresh air after being underwater for too long.
1. Chapter 1

It's a sequel to Born Still, and I'm not sure it can be read independently. It's going to be a three-part story, and despite what it may look like, it's going to be a fluffy one. A thank you and a boop in the nose to meqhanory, for being my incredible beta. I do not own anything

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE**

* * *

The trip home from the hospital was filled with a heavy silence.

Emma had gone to their house to get the Mercedes and in her hurry to get back and take Regina from the living hell her hospital room had become, she forgot to take the baby car seat from the place where it was safely strapped. The soft light green and dark maroon of the fabric didn't exactly blend in with the black leather seat. On the contrary, truly. It shone bright against their lids as a cruel reminder that they didn't have a baby to put on that seat and bring home.

Just as cruel as the unopened bag full of baby clothes and little things that Emma had thrown carelessly on the side, without a second glance to where it landed as she helped Regina in.

Focusing all her attention on the uneventful road, Emma could see her wife from the corner of her eye, and she doubted she was aware she was still clutching to her belly as if there was a child in there, ready to be born into this world. Staring outside of the windows, Regina had her eyes vacant, wandering from a dust particle to a stain on the glass to nowhere in particular as she let herself feel numb.

Nothing from the last few hours felt real. It felt like a miserable and excruciating nightmare they just couldn't wake up from. It barely felt like they were living this horrible dream, but it would never be, all that sorrow that seemed like would never fade.

Because it couldn't be happening to them. They couldn't have lost their child. Even the thought of never seeing their daughter again was unfathomable.

They would simply come back to an empty house. A house that would no longer be filled with 2am cries for food or to be changed, or with a giggle when piggyback riding her brother's back. It would just be silent.

Right then, two streets before reaching their home, Regina freed an anguished sob that was constricting her chest when a single thought filled her mind and crushed all that little resemblance of strength she had managed to keep in.

They would have to bury their baby.

* * *

Emma had once read that mourning was love with nowhere to go.

It hit a little too close to home, she thought as she picked up the toast and masked a smile onto her face when she turned to set the plate in front of Henry, who was way more focused on his drawing than in eating his breakfast and getting ready for school.

Ruffling his hair as she went back to the counter to get her coffee, she couldn't help feeling this was too true to ignore.

She found herself constantly mourning Coraline.

She no longer slept as heavily and without worries as she used to, and would wake up in the early morning, wanting to cuddle a daughter she didn't have, wanting to feed and care for a newborn baby that left them before her time. She wanted to rock her daughter to sleep, but all she could do was soothe herself with unsung lullabies as she tried not to fall back into a restless sleep.

Drinking her coffee and blinking the sleep off her eyes, she turned to Henry, "Want me to drive you to school?"

Tearing his eyes from his half-finished drawing, Henry gave the toast one last big bite and talked through the food, "No, I'm going with Ava. But thanks!". Emma couldn't help the grin creeping on her lips against her will, but she did raise an eyebrow for good measure, as if Henry could have somehow missed the light mockery on her expression.

"Shut up! Her brother is coming too."

"Yeah, sure. You gotta keep him on your good side." Emma laughed as Henry's cheeks turned bright red before shrugging his backpack on and looking away from her. Glancing at the clock on the wall, she put on a somewhat serious expression, "Now, school, go. Don't leave your girlfriend waiting."

"She's not-" Henry began to protest, but gave up with an eye roll, knowing he wouldn't win this early in the morning. "You're the worst", he grunted before running off the kitchen and into the front yard.

"Love you!" Emma shouted through soft giggles. Henry had reached such a fun age. He would no longer hug her that often or want to hang out with her after school, but she could make him feel embarrassed about girls now. It kind of made it up for all of those childish ways leaving him. Regina reminded her more often than not how unhealthy it was, how he should not be embarrassed of growing up and having feelings, and Emma should not make him feel so bad. But it was fun, nonetheless.

Taking notice of the time, Emma busied herself with the dishes from dinner and breakfast. Her shift didn't start before 10am, and Ruby told her she could do the first patrol of the day and would let her know if any incident needed her help.

She made a mental note to let Regina sleep in until sometime around 9am before waking her up and trying to get her to eat something.

Emma would wake up in the wee hours in the morning and couldn't go back to sleep if her life depended on it. Regina was the opposite. She would wander around the house until 2am or maybe later, in bad nights. She made herself busy with paperwork or a book, maybe cider or hard liquor when the memories got too fresh.

Putting the last mug on the drying rack, Emma considered getting more coffee, more to keep busy than awake, and calling the station to check up on Ruby as she heard the shower starting to run. Regina was up. Glancing at the clock, she noticed her wife had barely gotten three hours of sleep.

Last night had been a bad night. Emma woke up shivering, covered in sweat from her latest nightmare - something to do with sirens. As she turned on her side, knowing she wouldn't fall back asleep, she found out she had been alone all night. Regina had never come to bed, her side still somewhat made.

Getting up, Emma found Regina sitting on the hallway, leaning against the wall in front of Coraline's nursery. The door was closed, like usual. They didn't make a habit of entering an unused baby room that would never know the joy of hosting a young girl. Regina had a half empty bottle within her loose grasp, eyes vacant as she stared at the closed door in front of her. She wasn't drunk, no, Emma could tell her vacant stare wasn't due alcohol. It was all sorrow.

"Come to bed," Emma pleaded in a sleepy voice, and Regina looked up. Her eyes were dry, her face as composed as it could be, given it was early in the morning and she hadn't gotten a full night of sleep in ages. It was a crushing reminder that Regina hasn't cried since Coraline's funeral. She bottled it all in, deeming herself unworthy of crying over the loss of someone she hadn't been able to protect from her rotten core.

Regina used Emma's stretched hand as aid when she tried to get on her feet, wobbling a little on her way up. The bottle remained forgotten on the floor as Emma wrapped her arm around Regina, who clung onto her as if the blonde was the only thing keeping her up straight. They both got into bed, Emma pretending to try and fall asleep again as Regina stared at the ceiling above them, barely blinking until tiredness got the best of her and she finally fell into a restless and troubled sleep.

Emma wondered if they'd spend their entire life struggling to fall asleep or to stay quiet long enough for memories of that dreadful night to rise to the surface again. The loss was too great for them to simply move on from it; it was a pain like no other. In therapy, they had learned that time would make it less hard to deal with. Maybe, eventually, they could even talk about it without feeling like their insides were being torn apart.

For all the pain they had gone through in the last few months, Emma prayed for them to be right.

As she put more coffee to brew so Regina could have a fresh cup, Emma noticed Regina had turned off the shower. She'd be down soon. Maybe Emma would even get a smile out of her when she finished making funny shaped pancakes. Even though she was almost sure it would taste like trash and she'd burn them, Emma started to gather the ingredients to make her wife breakfast.

She had just reached for a bowl on the top shelf when a desperate scream pierced through her very soul. It was such a raw scream that it almost muffled the sob that came along.

The bowl left her grip, scattering all over the floor. But she couldn't care about it, not when Regina was crying out so loud she could hear her from down the kitchen.

Running up the stairs two steps at a time, Emma got to their room and into the bathroom to find Regina crouching on the floor, with towel poorly wrapped around her naked form. Her palms covered her face, and she bit the heel of her hand to keep her sobs low. Wet strands of hair fell on her face, half hiding the frantic look she had in her eyes.. The cries rushed through her body, causing her to shiver and choke on them. Emma was lost for a moment, but she leaned down and wrapped her arms around Regina's shaking frame.

Something caught her eye, and she absently reached for it. As soon as she focused on what the scattered numbers on a piece of paper meant, she felt her own legs about to give in under her.

It was a calendar page, October from last year. The 22th had a red circle around it, with the words "due date" written on top of it.

Coraline would've been one year old today.

* * *

"No."

Crossing her arms on her chest and trying to keep a pout out of her face, Emma let the air out of her lungs in an annoyed puff. Regina said the word in a definitive tone that allowed no follow ups. Anyone in their right mind would shut up immediately, but Emma wasn't having any of it.

She had waited too long for this conversation. She had been patient, healing and letting Regina heal, for three years. They were having this conversation today.

"Why?" Narrowing her eyes, Emma held the death glare Regina was giving her. She had seen Regina give her that same glare many times before, it didn't really scare her anymore.

"Emma, I'm warning you. Don't." Regina made a sharp gesture, missing Emma's face by an inch. There was something different about her eyes, but Emma dismissed it, assuming the brunette was just angrier than usual.

"Why?" Part of her knew she shouldn't be pushing Regina this far. The brunette was more distressed than Emma had seen her in months, but she needed a better answer than a simple 'no' before putting the subject away. "Why won't you even consider trying again?"

Regina wrapped her arms around her middle, as if trying to hold herself in place before turning to face Emma. She was hunched, shoulders down, looking almost fragile and her eyes were glistening with tears ready to drop. When she spoke, her voice was small and cracked.

"Because I can't bear to lose another child."

Emma felt as if she had been punched in the stomach. How could she have missed it? Of course, she had suffered an impossible loss when they found out Cora was gone. But Regina had to carry her, had to go through labor. "We can have a healthy baby…"

"We can't" Regina wiped her tears away before they fell, masking her sorrow much too well, "I can't. Why do you think we lost Cora in the first place?"

Emma stretched her hands out, almost reaching for Regina's arms, but never daring to touch her. If anyone knew how Regina reacted when this subject was brought up, it was Emma. "It was preeclampsia, the doctors confirmed it. There was nothing you could've done-"

"No, Emma!" her voice broke yet again, and her entire body was almost visibly shaking. When their eyes met, Regina let all her sorrow, all her guilt; show for a split second before blinking it away, causing her welled up tears to fall, "We lost her because I couldn't keep her safe!"

Tightening the grip on her waist, Regina turned her back to Emma. She couldn't be looking in her eyes when Emma realized why they didn't have a baby girl with them, running around the house and bumping into things.

The silence weighed them down for a long while that seemed to stretch forever. Regina could swear Emma was halfway to Texas by then, so that's why she almost jumped out of her skin when strong arms wrapped around hers and a chin came to rest on her shoulder.

"You can't blame yourself for that." Her whisper was soothing, but Regina still felt like a rock was sitting heavy on her stomach.

"Well, I do." Regina let her head fall back, resting it on Emma's shoulder. "Don't you?"

Emma's embrace tightened around her wife's frame, her body flushed against her back. "No. Never." Emma peppered her neck with tiny kisses before settling her lips on a single spot where neck met shoulder, speaking against her skin, "No one could've taken a better care of her than you. No one could've been a better mother than you were for her. Cora is our daughter. We lost her. But it wasn't your fault."

Between hushed whispers, Emma could feel Regina alternating between relaxing and tightening her muscles, and she knew that it would take more than that to change Regina's heart. She didn't feel like she was good enough, it was engraved on her soul. And the moment they kissed for the first time, Emma knew it would be her duty to reassure Regina that she was enough, she was more than enough. For her, for Henry and for Cora.

"I wanted to have another baby. I wanted to raise a child with you, to give Henry a sibling, to expand our family." Regina looked out of the window and into their backyard, where an ancient swing hung from one of her tree's branches. Emma had built it with a spare tire when Henry was still at an age where he would play with it. "But after what happened… After what we went through," she tried to contain the dry heaves coursing through her body, choking back a sob, knowing Emma was feeling everything, "I can't- I won't get pregnant again. It's just… It's too much pain, Emma."

Rocking them both back and forth without ever letting go of Regina's waist, Emma started humming some long forgotten lullaby. Regina sunk in her touch, closing her eyes and letting hot tears roll down her cheeks. Emma never got to sing all the lullabies she learned. She never had anyone singing them to her and now she only had those soothing moments to sing them.

Regina slowly began to feel more relaxed than she had in a long time, sleep sinking in her bones and she thought she could fall asleep in Emma's arms right then and there, standing up in the middle of her study.

"Adoption." The word came out barely louder than a whisper, but it was enough to drag Regina out of her reverie.

"Wh-what?" Regina choked when trying to talk and for some unknown reason, her heart was hammering against her ribcage so wildly she thought it might break out loose.

"Yeah, you got Henry, you know the works." Emma loosened her grip on the woman's waist so she could turn around. Her eyes were wide and the fear leaked through, "And I know how orphan children feel, how they yearn for a family. We can be someone's family." Reaching out for Regina's face, Emma touched her cheek gently, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear before tangling her fingers on the chestnut locks. She leaned in, foreheads touching and breaths mixing. "We have so much love to give to a baby. It's the kind of love we can't give to anyone except a baby. Our baby."

Our baby.

Hearing the words said with such hope felt like the first breath of fresh air after being underwater for too long.

* * *

The paperwork was endless and enough to fill a whole storage room and the interviews seemed to never end, and that put aside the fact they had to come up with more than one excuse for certain things if they didn't want to be deemed insane talking about magic and Neverland. But everything had been worth it as soon as they had laid eyes on Sean.

They were halfway through their umpteenth meeting with the headmaster, talking about daycare and preschool, when a social worker assisting them asked if they'd like to meet their son. Emma started to almost visibly shake, her hands gripping the Regina's so hard her knuckles flashed white. Regina took a steadying breath and nodded, not daring to speak, unsure of how her voice would come out.

Both women had a ridiculously wide grin on their faces, their worries being washed away by the prospect of meeting their little boy. "We're going to meet our son," Emma whispered, feeling like she had to say it aloud in order for it to be true.

"Yes, dear." Regina whispered back, without tearing her eyes from the door, "Yes, we are."

Excusing himself, the headmaster went outside to find more forms they had to fill and sign. It didn't took long before the social worker opened the door, making room for a tiny little kid to slip by.

"Emma, Regina, this is Sean." she nudged him slightly, encouraging him to go on and approach both women, "Sean, go on, say hi."

His hands were hanging by his side, clutching his cargo shorts, and he took a few steps before scanning their faces. He had curly hair falling on his forehead that matched his deep brown eyes, and he couldn't be taller than thirty three inches. His steps were a little wobbly, most likely due nervousness, but he put them one in front of the other until reaching a comfortable distance from the two women.

Emma had all but kneeled on the ground and Regina had bent down to get to his eye level, both women amazed by his curious eyes. He chewed on his thin bottom lip, maybe wondering why those two ladies were smiling so wide.

"Hello, Sean." Regina was the first to find her voice, and it was almost melting in delight. Reaching out for his hand slowly, she wondered if he'd be scared of a stranger wanting to hold him. But as he gripped her thumb and walked closer to them, a heartbreaking thought crossed her mind - he must have met strangers in this situation countless times.

Darting his eyes from woman to woman, he replied in a shy voice, "Hi."

At this point, Emma had sat on her ankles, and looked at him all too hopeful. "Hey, little man." Her voice came out in a rather high pitch, her own body being unable to contain the joy.

Sean focused his gaze on her wide smile and warm gaze and reached out for her, grabbing her cheek with his free hand and digging his tiny nails in her flesh before letting a toothy smile break out.

Regina blinked away happy tears that threatened to fall, and kept caressing his hand while talking, "We've been wanting to meet you for so long."

Letting go of Regina's thumb and Emma's cheek, he dug into his pocket and took three grapes out of it. He was fiercely gripping them – Regina supposed someone had taught him not to let his food drop – and gently shoved one of the grapes on Emma's hand, who said her thanks in a choked voice. Regina's voice wasn't steady either when Sean put a grape on her hand; closing her fingers around it and she had to thank him as well.

Then he sat on the floor, dropping himself on his bottom rather than actually sitting down properly, and grabbed his grape with his two tiny hands and started biting on it. Most of it ended up on his cheeks and chin, but the way his face contorted in joy for the sweet and grimaced when he dug his teeth on a sour part was worth all the mess.

"Gina?" Sean asked in a mumbling voice, his mouth full of grape. It was only logical he had been told about them, but they never really introduced themselves.

"Yes, I'm Regina, dear." Regina said with a smile, getting a handkerchief from her purse and wiping at his face.

Emma popped her grape on her mouth, taking a sit near him on the ground, "And I'm Emma."

He looked at her while grabbing the handkerchief and mostly spreading grape all over his face. After blinking away some moisture he had dragged near his eyes, he patted the floor in front of him and looked at Regina, who took a hint and sat on her heels.

"Sean!" He squealed and threw his hands in the air, letting his tiny body fall towards the women. Regina put a hand on his chest to give him some balance, and Emma had reached out for him too, but decided to go for tickles instead of holding his torso.

"And are you ticklish, Sean?"

His answer was a loud squeal before he started to giggle with abandon. Sean squirmed under Emma's fingers and scooted over to Regina until his back was against her thigh, grabbing her hand that held him in place.

Letting go of him at that first day was harder than both women had anticipated. After that first moment where he couldn't quite figure out who those two ladies were, they started talking to the warmest two year old they had ever known. He was just a toddler and the roughness of the foster system hadn't rubbed off on his yet, and for that, Emma was glad. She couldn't bear the thought of those melting eyes getting hurt and having to build a wall around them like she did from a too young age.

Sean was adorable and rather chatty, even though both women had a little trouble understanding him at first. When they got the hang of his dialect, and followed his grabby hands and pointing fingers, they could talk, learn about him in the best way they could ask for, and get to know their son who had a heart wrenching pout when they said good bye and whispered promises that they'd be back soon.

* * *

Regina glanced at the back seat of her car and back at Emma, "I hope he likes his car seat."

Smiling at her, Emma looked back at the toddler car seat securely strapped on in the middle of the back seat. The fabric was royal blue with detail in white, picked by Regina and Henry while Emma tried to argue with the man pretending to help them at the store as to why a bed was better than a crib. Emma hadn't noticed the car seat before going through check out, she had been otherwise busy in a heated discussion featuring sayings like "My son is two years old, not two months" and "I'm not putting him in a cage!".

"I'm sure he will." Turning her eyes back to the road ahead of her, she tried to ignore that irritating grip around her heart that seemed to be pumping worries into her bloodstream. "Do you think he'll like us?"

Regina snapped her head to Emma and blinked twice, taken aback by her question, before training her eyes back on the road. Emma herself seemed to be surprised by her question, given her eyes had become almost comically wide. The brunette would've been lying if she said the thought hadn't crossed her mind once or twice. She knew Henry loved her, but she also remembered the nights she cried herself to sleep because the child she raised with such love and care announced to whomever wanted to hear that he hated her.

What if their youngest son grew to hate them too?

Shaking her head, she decided Emma didn't need her to share her doubts right now. "We're going to love him and care for him with everything we've got. I know he'll have a better chance of being happy with us than in the foster system."

Emma fought the overwhelming feeling she always got when she thought about what a happy childhood would've been like. She just looked at her wife and smiled, loosely intertwining their fingers and nodding before blinking her eyes dry again.

The drive to Boston's Angels was weirdly familiar at this point. They had been to the adoption agency more times than they cared to count in the last six months, bringing in documents, doing interviews and meeting their future son.

The headmaster had called them to let them know all forms had been filled out, signed and approved a couple of weeks later. Almost as soon as they put down the phone, they kissed Henry goodbye, and drove to Boston's Angels.

Regina had Emma's fingers intertwined with hers, using it as safety blanket so her anxieties wouldn't leak through her almost shaking body. On the other hand, Emma was almost skipping through the hallway to the headmaster's officer, dragging Regina along her as if she was the two year old.

"Can we see Sean?", Regina blurted out before even shaking hands and saying her customary hello to the headmaster.

He smiled, pleased to see eager mothers to be like this instead of that expression of boredom that thought kids as nothing more than a food ticket he so often came across. "I already asked for him. He's just finishing packing, he'll be here any moment."

Both women sat down, trying to focus on the man's instructions as he directed them to yet another stack of papers they had to sign.

Just as they were finishing signing everything, the door opened and light footsteps wobbled fast across the room as Sean came closer to them, almost hitting the table before Regina put a hand out to protect him.

Getting on his tiptoes, he wanted to see what was happening above his sight and started to whine as Regina turned to him and held out her hands as he held up his arms, gladly accepting her help.

"Why don't you come up here?" she put him on her lap, strapping an arm around him as he scooted closer to the table.

"Ma!" Sean squealed as he saw Emma coming near him with grabby hands, as if to tickle him, but she just playfully tapped her fingers on his thighs.

The social worker who had brought him stepped beside them, dropping a bag by the table. It was probably all of his belongings, between clothes and toys. Regina wondered if he would even have any toys of his own, and she felt a sudden wave of gratitude wash past her as she remembered Emma had brought some toys.

Most of all, her relief was that they were taking Sean from there.

Cleaning his throat to sober up the two women, the headmaster resumed talking, "You signed all the legal paperwork and in six months' time you both should return here so we can check up on Sean and you may complete the adoption process." His voice was deep and boring, and Sean just started playing with Regina's sleeve, given that conversation was of zero interest to him. "Now, in these six months, a social worker will go to your house ever so often. Both to see if our little guy is being taken good care of and to know if you still want to keep him. I just want you to know that, if you want to return him at any moment, you can."

Emma jumped to the edge of her seat, frowning upon that statement, and Regina tightened her grip around Sean, bringing him closer to her.

"Return him?" Regina found her voice first, as Emma's jaw had dropped and her fist clenched, "What do you think he is? A good you're selling, or a service you offer? He is a child. Do you really think we'd go through all that endless process to take him out for a trial?" Hearing her distressed voice made Sean turn to see what was going on, and Emma's hand found his. "He's our son. We're not giving him back to the system."

"Yeah, pal, you should know better than saying shit like that." Emma blurted out without thinking.

Before she could go on, Regina looked at her sternly and hissed "Language, Emma".

"Oh, right. Sorry, kid." She squeezed his fingers and turned to the headmaster again, "We're great moms. We're gonna be great for Sean and I know you're gonna check up on us and everything, but we're gonna do everything right. He's not coming back to live here. Ever."

The young boy raised his eyebrows, and asked in a shy, surprised voice, "Ever?"

Both women looked down at him, and Regina kissed his head as she assured him, "Ever."


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

* * *

Tugging at the foam covered straps, Sean fiercely tried to free himself from the belts keeping him in place on the car seat. As he started to kick and whine in frustration, his face getting crimson red from the struggle he was going through, Emma and Regina shared a conflicted look.

Maybe Emma should've gone in the back with him, or maybe they should have put on some soothing song in hopes he'd sleep through most of the way back. The drawing pad Regina had given him to play with during the hour long trip had entertained him for a while, but he had tossed it across the back seat when he couldn't draw something. They had given him some fruit snacks to eat before they left Boston's Angels, but maybe he was hungry. Or, most likely, tired - they didn't really know when he was used to nap and he could've been just a bit cranky.

Sean was distressed, that much was clear. Regina wondered for a moment if the straps were too tight or if he was sitting in a weird position. A million thoughts coursed through her mind as the boy started screaming and she couldn't find an answer for most of them.

For a moment, it felt like when she first got Henry. She had tried everything in her power to soothe her three-week-old son and he just wouldn't stop crying. It seemed she would go through the same experience with her two-year-old son.

Her motherly instincts told her to stop on the side of the road and coo Sean in her arms, make sure everything was right with him and rock him to sleep while Emma drove them home. But she couldn't do this, could she? They had gotten the car seat for a reason; it would keep him safer than he'd be if she kept him on her lap.

A lump formed on her throat, and she could feel moisture forming in her eyes in frustration as a feeling of helplessness invaded her. Emma undid her seatbelt and kneeled on her seat with her back to the windshield, turning to face Sean. Before Regina could tell Emma to sit down because they were on the road, the blonde reached out for Sean, brushing the curls off of his forehead.

"Hey, buddy." Emma's voice was soft and she dragged the words in a cheerful tone, capturing Sean's attention, "What's happening there? Are the straps bothering you, is this it?" He stifled a sob and pouted, nodding vigorously. Wiping away a stubborn tear that fell down his cheeks, Emma loosened the straps a bit, giving him more room to move as she put the doodler back next to him. "You gotta keep them on, okay? Just for a little longer. We're almost home. Can you do that for me?"

Sniffing his tears away, Sean mumbled an affirmative answer, grabbing the pen to keep scribbling on the doodler. Pushing his hair back and drying the wet trail his tears had left on his cheek, Emma was happy to see he was already strongly engaged on his drawing. Now that the straps were a bit loose and the leathery material didn't bother him anymore, he was content and focused on the straight line he was drawing, keeping his tongue between his teeth.

Emma wondered if this would be a trademark of him, biting his tongue when he was focused. She couldn't wait to get to know him.

"You must keep yours on as well, dear," Regina reminded Emma, tapping on her thigh to catch her attention so she could snap out of her trance and sit properly on her seat. Keeping her eyes trained on the road, Regina could still catch glimpses of Emma's wide smile by the corner of her eye. A few moments passed, just enough for Emma to put her seatbelt back on and take a deep happy breath, before Regina reached out and took her hand within her own. "You're a great mom, Emma. We'll be fine."

Squeezing Emma's hand lightly, Regina retrieved it to steer the wheel and make a left. They'd be home in a few, and they both couldn't wait to introduce Sean to his big brother and grandparents and all the people who would fall in love with him.

Once they got to the manor and Regina got out the car, Emma scrunched her face in a silly face to Sean before going to get the little boy's few belonging they had put in the trunk.

"Hey, there", Regina opened the back door and reached for the straps, making quick work of them and allowing the boy to move and stretch a bit in his car seat, "Look who's free!" she said cheerfully, watching Sean giggle and reach his arms up in joy. "Come on, let's get you home."

Regina propped him up on her right hip and held him firmly in place, Sean grabbing a handful of her blouse to keep himself steady as she leaned down inside the car to reach over his car seat to grab a few toys they had tossed there on their way to pick him up.

"I help," he babbled as Regina emerged back from inside the car with him still hooked on her hip. She was somehow carrying five plush toys and his doodler. Seeing Emma taking two bags out of the back of the car at once, Sean started shaking his legs to get out of Regina's hold and down onto the pavement.

Putting him down as carefully as she could, giving the boy was frantically kicking, Sean immediately wobbly ran at full speed towards Emma, stopping just before falling over a rather big bag containing most of his belonging. He grabbed the straps and tried to pick it up, stumbling down and losing balance, making Emma reach for his back, steadying him before he found the floor.

Regina bent down to get closer to his height and gently handed him two plush toys, "Would you carry these for me, please? I'll help mama."

"Ma!" he squealed and nodded, taking a few steps away from the two women and dropping himself on the sidewalk once the bright colors of the train and the plane he was holding caught his attention, but not keeping him from babbling, "Mama, mamama."

Emma closed the hood of the car and leaned against it, tearing her gaze from the boy and giving a lopsided smile to Regina, "So… I'm mama, huh?"

Regina opened her mouth just to close it when no words came out, a faint tint coloring her cheeks. They hadn't really discussed how their younger child would call them and make a difference between his two moms. The word came out so naturally she hadn't even thought about it before blurting it out.

"I just figured… Since he called you Ma before and… Well, Henry calls you mama, but if yo-" Regina stopped mid-sentence when Emma's lips collided with hers. Regina indulged the kiss for a moment, her free hand running up Emma's forearm before breaking the kiss and glancing quickly to Sean, who was still very much entertained with the fact he could squish a train.

Emma grabbed her chin, making Regina look back at her. "Then I'm mama." Stealing another quick kiss, Emma handed her a small backpack with several Elmo drawings all over it. Regina took it and slipped her arm through the shoulder strap, using it mostly as a handbag, holding the toys securely next to her torso as Emma picked up the rather heavy bag laying down on the pavement, "Sean! Come on, let's go inside."

The boy propped himself up, almost falling down halfway through it, but catching his balance. Regina looked at him, and almost asked if he wanted her to pick her up, but as she slowed her pace, he walked a bit fast, keeping up with the grownups. Emma had opened the door and placed the bag inside the foyer before looking back to see Regina's worried look.

With one hand out stretched towards the toddler, Regina watched Sean climb the two steps wobbling as much as possible without falling on his face. He seemed confident, though, and that might have been the single reason why Regina didn't rush out to pick him up.

Emma figured it would take her a while to get used to having a toddler almost running into his own death constantly. But, apparently it would take Regina a while too, which made Emma wonder how overprotective of Henry she was when he was younger.

Sean walked into the house and looked up to the stairs, his mouth opening in a surprised smile. It was clear he couldn't wait to climb all those steps. His gaze wandered to the big chandelier above them, curving himself a bit too much and once again, almost falling on his butt and catching himself just in time.

Looking back at Regina who was setting his things down, Sean raised his arms. "Where?" he asked in an excited voice, slightly shaking the plush toys he was still fiercely holding. Regina motioned to the other toys she had put on a corner with his backpack. He walked there and carefully laid the toys near the pile and came back to stand between the two women.

"Welcome home, Sean!" Emma cheered and patted his head as Regina rubbed circles on his back. Throwing his hands up, Sean squealed and giggled, filling the otherwise empty house with the sound, joy reverberating on the walls.

Both women looked down to see his face getting flushed and he bent down, squealing and holding on to Emma's legs for balance. They only noticed they were grinning hard enough to make their cheeks hurt when they looked up and saw each other's face.

Emma raised a hand to cup Regina's cheek and was about to make small circles with her thumb when she heard a small hollow thud. They looked down to see Sean sitting on the floor, still somewhat holding on to Emma, but he was no longer laughing.

Regina bent down and put him back on his feet, brushing him off and tilting his head to look at her, "Are you okay? Did it hurt?"

Shaking his head, he seemed almost surprised. If it were due having falling down while laughing or the worry she showed him for having done so, she wouldn't know. Sounds coming from upstairs made him tear his gaze from Regina and look around, searching for the source of the noise.

As quickly as he appeared on the top of the stairs, Henry began to jump down the steps in a hurry to meet his younger brother. His presence obviously scared Sean, given he had hidden on the back on Emma's legs, his tiny nails digging on her jeans to keep his shaking form securely tucked away from the strange boy, who he didn't even dare to look at.

"Come here, buddy," Emma reached for Sean who wouldn't come out of his hiding place, and picked him up. He immediately buried his face on the crook of her neck, refusing to face Henry. He was nearly sixteen years old and taller than his moms were, with a stubble trying to show itself on his skin. It all combined with his dark clothes he had chosen to wear that day, it was clear why the sight frightened Sean so much. "This is Henry. We talked about him, remember? How he was excited to meet you? He's your big brother."

"Hey, Sean," Henry tickled him lightly to catch his attention. Sean peeked from under Emma's chin, still mostly hiding his face. Henry stretched his hand and waited for Sean to grab it and shake it, which he did, eventually, after side eyeing his hand for a few moments. "I hear you like Elmo. Is it true?" That really caught Sean's attention, his head snapping up at the mention of his favorite character from Sesame Street. "Wanna watch it while moms get dinner ready?"

Giggling, Sean raised his arms towards Henry, demanding to be picked up. The older boy was not expecting that, but caught the squealing bundle easily. Hooking his legs around Henry's hip, Sean grabbed the hair near the back of Henry's neck to secure himself, but he was so excited he pulled on it a bit, causing Henry to wince as the toddler jumped up and down squealing, "Elmo. Elmo. Elmo!"

Henry looked at his mom with a grimace coloring his features, almost as if he feared the younger boy would accidentally blind him with this shaking fist. Emma had her arm around Regina's waist, who was on the brink of crying; the sight was beautiful.

"Go, we'll call you both when dinner is ready," Regina managed to choke out, gripping Emma's arm for emotional support.

Trotting to the TV room, Henry made Sean giggle yet again. Their two sons playing together was a sight the two woman would always wish to see.

* * *

Anyone with eyes could see how much care had been put into organizing that bedroom. It hadn't been their first, sure.

Regina had spent several weeks gathering every bit of baby supplies Henry could possibly need for when he got home at three weeks old. It had been all her, a few dark tones seeping in the decoration, but also a lot of light, and that was mostly Henry who brought in.

Emma, Regina and, well, Henry had put together another bedroom a couple of years ago, painted with cream and crimson tones, and surrounded by toys never played with and baby clothes never worn. They didn't open that door often; it was still like shredding their insides to pieces all over again.

This one had been made especially to attend Sean's wishes. He never demanded anything, no. In fact, he was surprised when he found out he had a room all for himself. But in their visits, Emma and Regina had gotten to know what was his favorite color and what animals he liked the most and little by little, they put together a room that had made Sean squeal and grip their cheeks so hard in excitement he left nail marks on them.

Apart from his Elmo obsession – Regina refused to have a room full of the puppet's face, saying his eyes were too big; but Emma could almost tell Regina didn't want another baby room to be red and white –, they had found out Sean was absolutely enchanted by jungle animals. Whenever they were in the playroom at Boston's Angels, he'd grab colored pencils and scribble all over the paper they had given him while babbling about whatever was in his head. Every time he squealed "All done!" Emma and Regina would ask what he had drawn and he'd usually say it was a lion or a giraffe.

His room was jungle themed, and even Henry had to admit it was the cutest jungle in the world. The floor and one of the walls had been covered in light smooth wood, including the little stage of some sort where they'd keep his toys. The curtains were light orange and green, as well as the sheets on his crib, the fluffy rug in front of it and the rocking chair sitting in the corner. All the furniture was white, but the room was far from boring – there were stuffed animals all over the place. Inside the crib, there was a lion with a big smile that could be used as a pillow. But they opted for getting a thin pillow with sloths drawn all over it. A contraption resembling a ladder was built near the windows and there hung monkeys and birds, with ridiculously big eyes. The stuffed bears had been put on the ground ever since Henry had convinced Sean that bears couldn't hang on trees, and right next to them was a giraffe with a height chart on its neck. His toys would stay inside a box that resembled a treasure box, and he'd put them back every evening, claiming his things had to be safe.

From the very first night, they had almost unconsciously constructed a ritual for bedtime. Emma would bathe him, sometimes in his own baby tub, other times in the big hot tub that made him feel like he was in an ocean full of ships and monsters and flying cars and jungle animals - he wasn't shy about taking his toys to the tub and making a big story of it all. Then he'd get dressed in pajamas, and he was a fan of onesies, especially those with lots and lots of drawings. He had a respectable collection, from outer space themed ones to ones with all the Sesame Street gang drawn all over it. After that, Regina would read him a story in such a soft voice sometimes both Emma and Henry would join and fall asleep before the younger one.

Regina was holding Sean and reading a book called _The Very Hungry Caterpillar_, slowly rocking back and forth on the rocking chair while her baby boy lazily sucked on a bottle of milk.

"And he was a beautiful butterfly," Regina finished, her voice as soothing as ever and a bit lower, a way she had learned with Henry to indicate the story was over and bedtime was near.

Taking the mostly empty bottle from his loose grasp and putting it aside, Regina started to hush him to sleep. Sean grabbed a handful of her robe as he yawned, drooling over a good portion of the silk underneath him. "Butterfly, mommy?"

"Yes, baby boy," Regina tried to keep tears from breaking free and choked back a happy sob rising from her chest. He had been calling Emma "mama", as she had taught him from the very first day. It took Henry a while to call her momma, and she didn't want to keep her from having Sean calling her mama any longer. But he had never before called her mommy. It was always Gina or even mama but directed to her. As she rocked back and forth on the chair, lulling him to sleep, she wondered where that had come from. It was most likely that he had picked it up from Henry calling her mom. Deep down, she didn't care. Her little prince was calling her mommy.

A few minutes later, he was out cold and she carefully put him on his bed, pulling the crib-like side up to keep him from rolling out of bed during the night. Leaning in, she gave him a kiss on the forehead, whispering wishes of sweet dreams as he slowly let go of her hair. It was usual of him, to twist her hair around his little finger until he fell asleep.

On her way out, Regina turned the lights off, leaving only the lamp on the side of his bed that casted a shy glow on his sleeping form.

"He's out already?" Emma asked from her place on the bed, where she had her glasses on and was playing with Henry's old pocket game, as she saw Regina walking in with a big grin on her face.

Nodding, Regina slipped out of her silk robe, hanging it on the back of a chair. She had barely gotten under the covers when she couldn't hold it anymore and blurted out in a whisper, "He called me mommy"

Tossing the game aside, Emma eyes went wide and turned her attention fully to Regina, both having matching grins, "Really? Wh- How did that happen?"

"I was reading to him, as usual, and he just said it." Regina stared at the sheets for a long moment, before turning to Emma. Her eyes were glistening with tears threatening to fall, but she wasn't holding them back, "I can't believe he called me mommy."

Emma took her glasses off, setting them somewhat carelessly on the bedside table, and lunged forward to hug Regina, placing a very happy kiss on her lips. Regina indulged her for a moment, holding Emma's waist and helping her maintain her poor balance. Breaking the kiss, Emma just let herself fall down to Regina's chest, still hugging her very tightly, "That's because you are his mommy."

Brushing blonde curls off away from her face, Regina kissed Emma's forehead, who snuggled under her touch. Falling asleep was easy that night, both the tiredness from a day chasing after a two year old and a teenage boy and the bliss from knowing what they meant to their son easing them into a dreamless sleep.

It was still dark when something woke Regina up. She blinked the sleep from her eyes and reached for the bedside lamp, finally being able to make out Emma very much sleeping form. The blonde was hugging her pillow instead of laying her head on it, her legs in such a weird angle that Regina wondered how she could possibly be comfortable in that position. Soon it was made clear that her wife had not been the reason why she had woken up at - Regina glanced at the clock, the red numbers screaming at her - 1am.

She made herself focus on the environment of the house. No sound was coming from downstairs, and anyway she doubted that a robbery would've been happening at the Sheriff's house. Even the Lost Boys, who pulled a new prank every other day, weren't that dumb. She had checked in on Henry a little after setting Sean in bed, and her older son was already out cold - ever since he had joined the football team, he'd fall asleep as soon as he finished his homework, his body still unused to the amount of exercise he was forcing it into.

Something inside of her shifted in a weird and almost painful way when she thought of Sean. Getting up in a hurry and putting on her robe, she paced fast from her bedroom to his, peeking through the door she had left an inch open. What if she had been so excited he had called her mommy she forgot to properly adjust the side of his crib and he fell unconscious on the floor? Her mind went straight to the worst-case scenario, as it had always done when her sons were even in the slightest risk.

Opening the door to let the hallway lamp cast enough light into the room for her to see where she was going, she headed towards the bed, gladly noticing the side was up and holding her son safe. When she came close enough to see Sean more clearly, she instantly noticed something was wrong. He was agitated, kicking the covers off him, his hands accidentally punching his stomach and the side of the crib, and then fiercely rubbing his eyes.

Sweat had drenched his space themed pajamas and his hair clung to his forehead, wet and sticky. Regina's eyes went wide as she reached for him, brushing his hair off his forehead and noticing how strangely warm he was.

He was running a fever, and Regina didn't have to take his temperature to know it was a high one. Along the years, she had almost perfected her touch in knowing how warm was too warm when it came to kids. Being a single mother always took its toll on Regina, and being over careful with knowing right way if her son needed medical attention was one of them.

Grabbing a light soft baby washcloth and running to the bathroom, Regina soaked the towel in cold water, folded it neatly and sprinted back to Sean's room to put it securely on his forehead. He whined when the cold and soggy material touched his warm skin, but remained asleep somehow, which worried Regina to no end.

Hushing him and touching his flushed cheek, Regina sprinted out of the bedroom and into her own room, sliding the robe out of her shoulders and body, tossing it carelessly on the ground.

"Emma. Emma, wake up!" turning the bright bedside lamp on, she nudged Emma awake. Undressing on her way to the walk in closet, Regina grabbed a dress to change into. As she walked back into the room, halfway through slipping on her dress, she noticed her wife had simply tossed and turned under the covers, snoring lightly on her sleep. "Miss Swan, your son needs you," she punctuated every word in a tone that was anything but light as she tugged at the covers hard enough to strip them bed, leaving Emma with only a tank top and boy shorts to cover herself.

"Son?!" Emma sat upright in bed at how urgent Regina's voice sounded, rubbing the sleep from her still closed eyes, "What Sean? Son?"

"Gods, you're useless in this state," Regina groaned, grabbing a pair of jeans and throwing rather than tossing it to Emma, hitting her in the face, "Get dressed and wake up. We're taking Sean to the hospital, he's running a fever."

Regina marched out of the room after getting a somewhat panicked but affirmative answer from Emma, gladly noticing she was stumbling out of bed and into her skinny jeans. She let a shaky breath out, setting her mind to checking up on Sean first, then letting Henry know they'd be away for a little while. Anyway, she was only half surprised that her legs wouldn't carry her far enough - she was frozen, grabbing the wall in fear.

She had dealt with Henry being sick many times, this wasn't anything new. But she had never seen Sean sick. He had been with them for almost a month now, and he was a healthy child who didn't like to eat his vegetables and had cried his lungs out when he skinned his knee at the park. She didn't know so many things about him mothers of two year olds were supposed to know - was he allergic to some medication or did he have an irrational fear of hospitals, could she calm him somehow or would she not be able to nurse her son back to health?

Rubbing her face, she marched barefoot into the bedroom - she didn't get to have a meltdown now. Regina just had to remind herself that children got sick and a fever could be only a fever, not a deadly threat like she was feeling like it was. At least she had Emma with her, she wasn't alone. And most importantly, Sean wasn't alone, not anymore.

The lights were left on and she had entered the room to find Sean awake, grabbing the now warm towel on his forehead and clutching it as tears began to form on his eyes.

"Hi, sleepyhead," Regina reached for Sean inside the crib as he stretched his arms, waiting to be picked up. She tried to ignore how he now had tears running freely down his cheek, but she couldn't avoid the sharp pain on her stomach as his warm and wet cheek touched her own as she took a good hold of him, "We're going for a ride. How would you like that?"

Sean grabbed the collar of her dress, tugging at it as if he had to call her attention. As she turned to him, she had to take a sharp breath to not meltdown when her son needed her to be strong - he was pouting, eyebrows drawn together, "Sleep hurt, mommy."

Regina opened a few drawers, taking fresh clean clothes and tossing them inside the crib, before reaching to the side of it and sliding it down. She put Sean down on the mattress, and he struggled to stay standing up, "I know it hurts, but the ride will make it all better," Regina calmed him down as she stripped him from the sweat drenched pajamas. Sean was shaking, but he held on to her shoulders to keep his balance as she put on clean pants and sweatshirt, "Mommy promises."

Picking him up again, Regina tried to soothe him for a moment, rubbing his back and humming a lullaby he seemed to be fond of. He rested his head on her shoulder, clutching the collar of her dress again as he wet the shoulder of her dress with his tears.

A soft knock on the door made her turn around to find Emma fully dressed, looking very awake, with some papers in one hand and a pair of flip flops in the other. She dropped the shoes near Regina's feet and raised her hand to caress Sean's cheek, wiping his curls from his forehead, feeling how warm he was.

Emma shoot a worried gaze at Regina, but said in a soft voice, "I got the adoption papers and his medical history, in case we need it. And I told Henry we're leaving. Let's go?"

Slipping her feet in the shoes she had refused to wear before, even when they headed down to the beach one Sunday, Regina held Sean tighter against her chest and followed Emma down the stairs, leaving the lights on because she wouldn't dare to leave her son without any support he could get.

As if in silent agreement that they wouldn't just leave Sean in the baby seat, Emma opened the door to the back seat for Regina. Sliding inside, Regina moved Sean so he would be laying on her lap instead of holding him almost standing up and Emma turned on the car, driving them to the hospital.

A worried silence filled the car during the trip, being broken only by Regina's whispers to Sean, who was almost falling back asleep. Emma parked in front of the hospital, almost daring someone to tell her to move, and opened the door, taking Sean into her arms so Regina could her out without any more trouble than she had to.

"Do you talk to Whale or should I?" Emma muttered to Regina, still not completely comfortable around the doctor since their last encounter. After the doctor had told them that it'd be better for them if they "settled for Henry", Emma was still afraid she would just punch his face if he dared to say any other discrepancy to them.

Regina kissed to top of Sean's head, gladly noticing how he had his grabby hands on Emma's ponytail - he did it all the time when she was holding him, "You take him inside, I'll make sure Whale does his job."

How the woman kept her regal appearance when she was five inches shorter than usual was unclear even to herself. Somehow, even with the flip-flops making an obnoxious noise against the well-waxed floor, she managed to find Whale, who was thankfully on call, and demand that he examined her son.

The doctor barely sighed before earning a raised eyebrow from the woman who ruled that town for almost three decades. Although she had agreed to keep her magic to a minimum, since the outcomes had been catastrophic through the years, he was sure that Regina wouldn't hold herself back if he dared to keep the newest Swan-Mills family member waiting.

"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, Regina," Whale tried to ease her worries as he grabbed the stethoscope, rushing through the corridors towards the child.

"Wonderful to know you're so sure about your skills it doesn't even require proper examination of my son," her voice was harsh in a shocking contrast against the annoyingly cheerful sound her flip flops made against the floor, "And it's Mrs. Swan-Mills to you."

Sean was lying down on a bed with Emma by his side, both his hands in hers, apparently telling him a story. He was focused on her voice, but tears ran down his cheek and it took everything Regina had to not sprint across the room and wipe it all away.

"Hey, champ. What's happening?" Whale tried to sound cheerful, but the boy kept silently crying. Regina moved to stand beside him, brushing his hair back and trying to comfort him somehow, "Could you lift his shirt, please?"

Neither Emma nor Regina moved away from Sean and Whale didn't dare to ask. He did a routine examination on the boy, checking for signs of the most common diseases at this age - even if the chance of him having anything other than a cold was highly unlikely, he didn't want to leave anything out.

At the end of the half hour Whale had spent on Sean, the boy was annoyed and begging to be taken away from there. Emma scooped Sean near her, keeping him sitting up and resting his back on her legs, shooting death glares towards the man.

"So?" Emma demanded when he put his instruments away. She then took her crying son in her arms, and he instantly reached around her, burying his face on her neck. Regina made her way to her wife and son, until she had one hand resting on each of their backs, her glare demanding the same answer from the doctor who hadn't said much except for order of how to hold him.

"His throat is mildly inflamed. He was already sweating his fever off, he should be fever free in the morning. Keep an eye on him for cough or flu like signs," Whale's eyes darted from Emma to Regina, and he patted on the sleepy boy's bottom, "Just make sure he drinks lots of fluids and he'll be fine in no time."

Emma narrowed her eyes, stepping towards the doctor with a vicious glare, "He better be, you son of a-"

"Thank you," Regina cut her wife's threat before she cursed in front of their sleepy but yet very supple son, "Dr. Whale. Now he doesn't have to take any medication?"

"No, he just needs to rest and he'll recover on his own." Whale assured and stepped back, putting a safe distance between them and bidding them goodbye.

Adjusting Sean on her arms, Emma rolled her eyes as they walked out of the hospital, "He's a two year old, how are we supposed to make sure he rests?" Regina scoffed, holding out her hand for the car keys. Sean looked far too comfortable to make him move. Emma managed to hold Sean, open the door and slip inside before Regina had the chance to do so or argue about how dangerous it was for an infant to ride on the front seat, "Don't give me that look, you'll drive way too slow anyway."

"Someone needs her sleep," Regina retorted, ignoring how careless Emma was acting - she was too relieved their son was okay to bother picking up a fight now, especially since her wife was running on less than an hour of sleep.

Emma groaned a little, adjusting Sean on her lap, "I think we all do." The boy was already half asleep, but he made himself more comfortable, sucking on his thumb while grabbing a handful of Emma's tank top, "How about we all sleep on our bed tonight?"

Regina smiled at the thought, already picturing Emma laying on her stomach with Sean on top of her, like they usually woke up when they slept together, "I think it's a nice idea."

* * *

"No," Emma belted at Henry, her jaw slacking open, "No way!"

"I swear!" Henry laughed, grabbing the package of floor from the cabinet, "Mom really didn't let me have pizza until I was six. She said the cheese would make me sick or something."

Sean giggled from where he was sitting on top of the island table, clapping his hands, almost as if he knew they were doing something without permission.

"It's pizza." making sure she sounded horrified, Emma tossed the missing ingredients inside a bowl, mixing them, "Now I get it why you thought she was the Evil Queen."

Bumping his shoulder on hers, Henry smiled. They had grown to be fond of joking around about their Fairytale selves, although most of the jokes were at Regina's expenses. Grabbing a pan and starting to grease it with cooking spray as Emma was mostly finished with the homemade dough, they both froze when they heard the front door opening, even Sean stopped giggling. They had half expected Regina to be out until they had it all ready so she couldn't say no, but apparently Kathryn's wedding arrangements were easier than they assumed.

Turning on the table until he was facing the source of the sound, Sean bluntly ignored the hushing sounds Emma was making and squealed as soon as Regina set foot inside the kitchen, reaching his arms up to be picked up, "Pizza, mommy!"

Regina put her jacket and purse down on a stool, helping Sean stand up on the kitchen table and dusting flour off of him, "What?" she hissed to Emma, narrowing her eyes at the blonde who looked like she was very tempted to just make a run for it and not stop until she was in Boston.

Henry knew that look too well to know he didn't want to be near when Regina spoke again, "You're in trouble," she whispered to Emma in a singing voice, brushing past her and picking Sean up. "Come on, Sean, let's go pick apples for dessert."

Grabbing a handful of Henry's shirt and tugging at it, Sean pointed to the woman covered in as much flour as he and the dough she had in hands, "I help, I help" He dragged the last word, wiggling his bottom as if he could scoot himself over near Emma.

"Fun part is over for now, we'll help after the dough is cooked, okay?" Henry walked out the kitchen almost manhandling Sean, who was now trying to climb on his big brother's shoulder and escape his grip.

Regina couldn't help but let a smile, even if it was a tight one, make its way to her lips. But again, her sons always make her smile. Henry was such a wonderful big brother, and Sean had grown attached to Henry to the point he wouldn't fall asleep without a hug and a weird handshake from him.

Turning to the issue at hand, she made sure she had a colder façade when she glared at Emma, putting her hands on her waist in a mayoral fashion, "So?" she demanded.

"So… Uhm, hi?" Emma fiddled with the dough, half trying to get it out of her hands, half just playing with it to keep her hands busy.

"Emma," Regina's voice was so firm and pointed when she said her name the blonde could've sworn she had called her Ms. Swan again, "What is this?"

"Uhm, pizza?" Emma took a tiny portion of the dough and shoved it in her mouth, keeping a childlike smile on her face in hopes it'd help her get away with it.

Sighing annoyed, it took Regina everything she had to not roll her eyes at the grown woman in front of her eating raw pizza dough "I've gathered so much, yes. I meant, how do you explain yourself?"

"I'm just-" That caught Emma somewhat out of guard, and she just shrugged lightly, popping another piece of dough inside her mouth, "We're just making pizza. Sean's never had it."

"There's a reason for that, dear," reaching for the bowl, Regina took it out of Emma's grasp, trying to ignore how the entire kitchen island was covered in flour, "He's two years old."

"Come on, Regina!" Emma whined, making her way towards her wife, "It's just bread and tomato and cheese. The kids eat it all the time, we're just putting them all together."

Pushing the bowl away so Emma wouldn't be able to grab it so easily, Regina kept her death glare on, "It's hardly the same thing."

Emma came closer to Regina, having a clear intent of pressing herself against her wife, but Regina caught up on that and took a step back. The blonde just reached past her wife and sprawled herself on the kitchen island, getting flour all over her tank top as she grasped the bowl with her fingertips. Bringing it close enough for her to grab it and hold it, she took another bite sized portion of dough and popped it into her mouth.

"My point is," Emma adjusted her grip on the bowl and looked at Regina, making a face ridiculously similar to the one Henry makes when he wants something he knows he won't get, "please, pretty please, let's make pizza."

Regina tried to glare at Emma, who was covered in flour, trying to make something yummy for their kids and with their kids. But the whole sight was too precious for her to not get soft.

"Emma," Regina managed to keep her voice somewhat stern, which was a great achievement given Emma had flour on her nose and she kept twitching it instead of wiping it clean.

"Come on," Emma dragged the last word, almost shaking in place, trying to convince Regina, "It's all homemade, so no preservatives or all that artificial stuff that will make our boys sick - or whatever. Henry himself made the sauce with fresh tomatoes and, ugh, if you want we can put some tasteless low-fat cheese on top. But then Sean would start hating pizza and kids would make fun of him in school." Shifting from one foot to another, Emma knew she would regret offering to change the cheese from mozzarella to something weird like cottage cheese they always had in the fridge, "It's pretty much all healthy and shit. And everything tastes good, I swear."

"Good?" Regina tried to muffle her scoff, but it came out anyway. She remembered the selection of burnt grilled cheese, oil soaked burgers, over salted popcorns and ruined pop tarts she watched her wife chew with a grimace and swallow hard, refusing to admit she was a failure when she tried to cook, "Are you positive, dear?"

Emma feigned offense and grabbed a piece of dough, roughly shoving it in Regina's mouth, "I followed the recipe!"

Regina couldn't help but laugh around the dough, that didn't taste so wrong as she thought it would. Emma soon let go of her offended façade and smirked at the sound of approval Regina let escape her throat.

Hearing footsteps that unmistakably belonged to a two-year-old boy running at full speed, they turned to the door just as a head poked in, two hands grabbing the door jamb, "Pizza, mommy?"

"Pizza, dear."

Regina was only halfway through her exasperated sigh when she felt a weight colliding with her legs and tiny fingernails digging into her skin. Looking down, and seeing curls nested against her knees, Regina bent down and reached for his armpit, swinging him a little in the air before hooking him on her hips, his hands curling around her neck and hair.

Giggling softly against Regina's cheek, Sean gave her a sloppy wet kiss that made a funny noise, "Pizza!" he said again, pulling at a few strands of hair on his fisted hands.

"You dummy, you don't even know if pizza tastes bad," Henry walks in, putting his phone in his back pocket. He had made a habit out of taking spontaneous pictures of them ever since Sean came into their family. Both women knew he did that to register their smiles that had been all too rare these last couple of years.

"Henry!" Regina shushed her older son in a stern voice, cooing the youngest on her arms. The young boy giggled though, reaching out from under Regina's hair to his brother.

"I say that with love," Henry bumped his fist on Sean's tiny one, "Don't I, buddy?"

"Yep!" Sean giggled as Henry tickled his sides.

Henry picked him up from Regina's arms and put Sean over his shoulder, the toddler instinctively keeping his body stiff and arms open, so he'd feel like he was flying as they walked towards the fridge to get everything they needed. Pretending to be an airplane and piggyback riding were Sean's favorite ways of transportation, being stuck on a baby car seat still being his least wanted one.

Regina had been so mesmerized by the interaction that she missed Emma approaching her, only realizing it when it was too late and the blonde had already thrown a bit of flour on her nose, leaving a trail of white powder on her waist as she cleaned her hand and all but sprinted away. Trying hard to be angry and annoyed, Regina couldn't help but smiling before sneezing softly.

"Bless you," Sean said from across the table as he stood on his tiptoes to put the cheese near the pot of marinara sauce that was too high above for him to reach. Emma helped him hop on the kitchen island again, and he set the block of cheese between his legs.

Reaching out and kissing his forehead, Regina thanked him, briefly wondering where he had picked that habit from. Brushing the thought away, she reached for the sauce as Emma spread the dough in round shape and Henry started to grate the cheese, feeding Sean some every now and then.

Humming in approval, Regina raised her eyebrows to Henry as she tasted more of the sauce, "And where did you learn how to cook like this?"

"Grace taught me," Henry shrugged nonchalantly, hiding a smile when Regina choked with her own saliva at the mention of a girl teaching him how to cook. It had been their plan all along, given Emma high fived him discreetly.

Regina's face was tinted red as she tried to catch her breath, "Who?"

"I'm kidding, mom," Henry said in a low chuckle, winking at her. He had indeed been hanging out a lot with Grace lately, but he didn't see her that way. It was fun to mess with his mom - it was even better knowing that he could, "I looked it up online, found a fancy chef doing it and decided to try. Buddy helped, and I didn't let Ma get near it."

"Hey!" Emma slapped his shoulder playfully, feigning offense, "I did the dough and it's pretty tasty, okay?"

Regina felt a smile spreading on her lips, her heart lightening up again. Sometimes, she felt like she had two teenagers under her roof, sometimes it seemed like there was three two-year-olds in need of her care. And as Sean giggled and clapped his hands in joy, Regina knew she wouldn't have it any other way.

After making the pizza and putting it in the oven for the dough to cook and the cheese to melt, Henry had to make sure Sean wasn't going to burn himself as he watched the cheese starting to bubble and Emma helped Regina set up the table, casually teasing her about how much fun she was having as Regina reminded herself to look angry.

She couldn't - not when she could hear both her sons giggling and feel her wife's arms sneaking around her waist.

Henry took a huge bite as soon as Regina set the slice on his plate, being mimicked by Emma. She put a smaller slice on Sean's place, making sure she had cooled it down enough for him to pick it up. He stared at it for a while, then looked at his brother wiping the corner of his mouth to get the smudge of sauce out.

Regina set a slice on her own plate, picking up the knife and fork to cut it - she agreed on pizza, but she wasn't about to eat her food with her bare hands like some primate. Sean tilted his head to the side, looking near his plate and seeing no utensils and looking back at Regina, in silent question.

The toddler had no idea how to even begin eating a pizza.

Sighing amusedly, Regina looked at him and motioned him to follow her lead. All of a sudden, he was all business like, straightening up on his high chair and no one would say he wasn't Regina's biological son in the moment.

Making sure he was doing the same movements as her, Regina picked the slice with her fingertips, feeling how the cheese weighted it down. Food wasn't supposed to be eaten with her hands - that had been her upbringing. But by the looks of it, Sean didn't want to be proper, he wanted to have as much fun eating as his brother and mama were.

Bringing the tip of the slice to her lips, she bit down on a modest piece of cheese and crust, tumbling it down her mouth without getting sauce anywhere it wasn't intended to. As she set her slice down again, she could feel Emma's and Henry's eyes boring into her, following her actions with an almost sick pleasure.

Then all their attentions turned to Sean.

Holding his slice up with both hands, he followed Regina's movements just as the other members of the family had. Then he focused again on his slice. The cheese at the end of the slice was weighing it down and Sean furrowed his eyebrows. Instead of lifting the slice up, he brought his head down, sticking his tongue out to taste it first and licking the cheese fat gathering up on top of it. Making noises with his tongue, assessing it the taste was good or bad, he decided it was a good taste and he dove in the food, taking a huge bite.

Sauce covered half his cheek and he somehow had managed to drop some on his nose, his eyes going wide as the taste filled his mouth. Chewing excitedly, with his mouth a bit open since the bite had been a bit too much for his tiny mouth, Sean hummed in approval, much like Regina did early.

"Is it good, monkey?" Emma crunched her nose, smiling widely as she reached under the table for Regina's hand.

Sean just nodded furiously, before swallowing and taking another clumsy bite, getting sauce on his chin and dropping cheese on his shirt.

Emma intertwined her fingers with Regina's, squeezing it lightly. If she knew that's how their little man would react to something as simple as pizza, she'd have tried to convince Regina way before.


End file.
